Cleaning attachment for circular-knitting machines



July 31, 1928.- 1,679,171

I T. D. PICKELL CLEANING ATTACHMENT FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 10, 1926' A Z. OZ

INVENTOR I me/us .51; Park fiz IITO/P/VEYS Patented July 31, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THETUS D. PICKELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIG-NOR TO A. V. VICT ORIUS &, COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 01'! NEW' YORK.

CLEANING ATTACHMENT non oIncULAnnimrne MACHINES.

Application filed AugustlO, 1926. Serial No. 128,355.

My invention relates to an improvement in knitting machines and more particularly to knitting machines of the circular type.

Knitting machines of the type to which my invention relates are, as is well known,

utilized for the knitting of hosiery, in theknitting of which the machine is given a rotary motion, during which all the needles are down and in action, for the production of the leg, and a reciprocatory motion, during Which a part of the needles are lifted and held out of action, for the production of the heel and toe.

The machines operating at relatively high speed require a substantial amount of lubrication as a result of which, in the course of time, an accumulation of oil, tine metal. chips and dust occurs in the needle cylinder and on the needles carried thereby. During the rotary motion of the machine, all the needles are operated, being lifted to a given height by the knitting cams, and the oil, dust, etc. does not have an opportunity to accumulate on the upperportion of the needles due to the constant wiping thereof by the loops of yarn in the formation of the stitches. The oil, dust,etc., however, accumulates on the needles and in the needle cylinder below the portion of the needles wiped by the yarn during rotary motion of the machine.

l Vhen the machine is shifted to reciprocatory mot-ion, as has been indicated, part of.

the needles are thrown out of actionwhich is accomplished by raising; or liftin the needles substantially hi gher than the needles in action are raised or lifted by the knitting cam and maintaining them in raised position. The needles thrown. out of action carry loops of yarn which, since the needles are raised higher than in knitting, are drawn down over a part of the needles upon which oil, dust, etc. has accumulated and the yarn becomes dirty, resulting in the knitting into the stocking of a quantity of oil, dust, metal, etc. when the needles are again thrown into action, which cannot be washed out effectively and which causes the appearance of a dark streak when the hosiery is dyed in any relatively light color.

When a machine becomes dirty it has heretofore been necessary to take it apart and thoroughly wash the needle cylinder and needles, since while the yarn on the needles thrown out of action picks up the dirt from the needles, the needles when thrown back into action pick up dirt from the needle cylinder which is transferred to the yarn uponthem when they are next thrown out of action and so on indefinitely unless the machine is cleaned.

.The" operation of cleaning a machine, requiring as it has the removal ofthe needles and needle cylinder, is an uneconomic proceeding since it requires some skill andsubstantial time during which the machine is necessarily out of operation.

Now it is the object of my invention to provide means whereby the needles and needle cylinder may be readily cleaned, without the necessity for removal, in asimple manner and in a minimum of time.

, Having now indicated, in a general way, the nature and purpose of my inventionfI will proceed to a description of a preferred embodin'ient thereof vith reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a developed View of the-cams for acting on the needles of a circular knitting machine, showing an embodiment of my invention. r

Fig. 2 is a detail view, partly in section, of a part of a circular knitting machine embodying my invention. In the'drawings a indicates the baseof a knitting machine, 5 a needle cylinder, 0 a gear carried by the cylinder and (Z a. cam ring. The needles 0 arranged about the needle cylinder are provided as is usual, some with long butts f andsome with short butts g, upon all of which the kn itting cams 7t operate. Picker cams i are provided for lifting and throwing out of action theneedles having long butts 7" and picker cams are provided for lowering and throwing the needles back into action. The line windicates the inactive position of the long-butt needles or the heightto which the needles thrown out of action are raised.

At a suitable point on the cam ring there is supported a bracket 70, which serves to support a cam n and a lowering cam 0. The bracket is is preferably adjustably secured to the cam ring as by a bolt Z, threaded int-o cam ring and passing through a slot m in the bracket, to enable adjustment of the cam into and out of the path of the needle butts. The cam 11 is so proportioned as to engage the butts of all the needles and raise or lift them to a height somewhat greater than the height to which the 10mg. butt needles are lot lifted by the picker cams The needles respectively after passing the cam n arereturned to normal by cam 0.

Thus it will be noted that when the cam n is positioned to operate on the needles, all the needles as they pass the cam respectively will be lifted to a height greater than that to which the long butt needles are lifted when they are thrown out of action. If new the m'a-chinebe operated with a rotary move ment and, a soft absorbent yarn be fed to the needles, the yarn on the needles, asthey are raised by the cam n, will wipe all the needles down below the point to which the yarn is drawn on the long butt needles when they are thrown out of action in the recip'rocatory movement of the machine. The needles as they are wiped will lower and wipe the needle cylinder, being again wiped themselves when they are again acted on by cam n, so that if the machine be operated for a relatively short time on rotary movement with the cam a operative, the needle cylinder and needles will be thoroughly cleaned, thus avoiding the necessity for disassembling the machine.

It will be understood that I do not intend my invention to be limited to its adaption to any particular type of circular knitting machine nor to any particular form of cam or method of attachment, since it may be adapted to various types of circular machines and may take a variety of forms.

It will also be understood that if desired several cams similar to cam n may be positioned to act on the needles with the result that the needles will be lifted several times in each revolution of the machine, instead of but once as in the embodiment described and the machine may thus be cleaned more quickly.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is 1. A cleaning attachment for circular knitting machines comprising, in combination, needles, knitting cams, picker cams tive position when said cylinder is reciprocated and a cam adapted to be positioned to lift all of said needles when said cylinder is rotated to a height not less thanthat to which certain of the needles are adapted to be lifted by the picker cams.

3. A cleaning attachment for circular knitting machines comprising, in combination, a needle cylinder, needles, knitting cams, means to rotate said cylinder, means to reciprocate said cylinder, picker cams adapted to lift certain of the needles to an inactive position when said cylinder is reciprocated, a cam adapted to be positioned to lift all of said needles when said'cylind'er is rotated to a height not less than that to which certain of the needles are adapted to be lifted by the picker cams and a cam adapted to be, positioned to return the needles to normal.

4. A cleaning attachment for circular knitting machines comprising, in combination, a needle cylinder, needles, knitting cams, means to rotate said cylinder, means to reciprocate said cylinder, picker cams adapted to lift certain of the needles to an inactive position when said cylinder is reciprocated, a cam adapted to be positioned to lift all of said needles successively when said cylinder is rotated to a height not less than that to which certain of the needles are adapted to be lifted by the picker cams.

In testimony of which invent-ion, I have hereunto set my hand, at Shelby, N. (3., on this 27th day of July, 1926.

THETUS D. PICKELL. 

